Southern High School is part of the Jefferson County Public School system in Louisville, KY. A teacher at the school reached out to me regarding a need for financial and career programming at the school. Southern High School has underserved students that may be falling far behind other students in the state as reflected by their school report-card. 84% of the students are on track to graduate high-school in 4 years, thats below the state average of 90%. Only 33% of graduates are pursuing college or vocational programs compared to 56% for state average. Overall only 18% of students are college ready. This consists of 3% of low-income and underserved students and 15% of all other students. 

In collaboration with Audrey Palmer from KSU. We are currently providing programming to three different classes at Southern High School. The first and second class are being taught financial literacy, career development, and soft-skill development using the My Financial Future curriculum. The third class is being taught college and career readiness, soft-skills, and leadership development using the Navigate curriculum. These classes are an hour long and have anywhere from 15 - 30 students. The students from the first two classes have prepared smart financial goals and are able to identify a variety of financial terminology and put it into practice. They have distinguished the difference between needs and wants, income inventory, and tracking their expenses. They have also learned how to grow their personal brand and the art of communication. The students being taught college and career readiness have been able to identify a career and create a path for completion. Students have identified their career interests, researched what it takes to complete it, and how the industry they want to study is projected to grow. They are also learning how to grow their personal brand and communicate wisely. The program is for six weeks and we have met with them for three weeks while also providing at home work and research. 

The students have represented growth by acquiring new skills that they are starting to apply to their lives, such as becoming more money conscious, researching career paths and setting goals, and learning how to develop their personal brand and how everything they do can benefit or harm it. Students have also expressed how these programs are beneficial, specially to those who are first generation, since they are "learning skills that are useful for life".